Hypokalaemic periodic paralysis associated with controlled thyrotoxicosis

Familial hypokalaemic periodic paralysis is an autosomal dominant muscle disease which has been linked to point mutations in the skeletal muscle L-type calcium channel alpha 1 subunit (alpha 1 s). It consists of muscular weakness episodes due to hypokalaemia caused by intracellular shifting of potassium. We describe the case of a young man of Kurdish origin, with a history of Graves' disease, who was admitted to the emergency room with hypotonic tetraplegia associated with severe hypokalaemia.